This invention relates to a modular anterior cervical plate designed to provide internal stabilization (temporary strengthening) to the spine in the cervical region (neck) during surgical repairs through an anterior approach to the neck.
This device is designed to improve healing and make it more likely that surgical fusion will be followed by bony union, and reduce the need for external braces following surgery. This is not the first anterior cervical plate ever designed, but it has several novel features that will facilitate decompressive aspects of cervical spine surgery, and will facilitate compression and distraction during cervical fusion and will allow dynamic settling if necessary in the first several weeks after surgery.
Devices presently on the market are basically thin (less than about 2.5 mm thick) molded metal plates that bridge gaps in the front of the cervical spine caused by surgery. (Examples are the Orion plate by Sofomor-Danke, the Codman plate by Johnson and Johnson, the Morsher plate by Synthes Inc., the Acromed plate, and others.) They stabilize the spine when screws are inserted through holes in the plate into bone above and below the surgical gap in the spine. As such, all plates on the market today are basically a single unit design.